Indon warns Instagram over gay comics

The Instagram comics depicted gay characters facing discrimination and abuse, which has become increasingly common in Indonesia since late 2015.

Press AssociationFebruary 13, 20197:18pm

Instagram has removed an account that published comic strips depicting the struggles of gay Muslims in Indonesia after a frenzy of moral outrage online in the world's biggest Muslim nation.

The Ministry of Communications said the account under the username Alpatuni was pornographic, which violated the law on information and electronic transactions.

It was closed after the communications minister wrote a warning letter to Instagram, the ministry said.

The comics depicted gay characters facing discrimination and abuse, which has become increasingly common in Indonesia since late 2015 when conservative politicians and religious leaders began a campaign of portraying LGBT people as a threat to the nation.

An account of the same name on Facebook, which owns Instagram, was also no longer accessible.

The ministry said it appreciated that members of the community reported the account, which "accelerated" its removal.

Some users in turn congratulated the ministry. On Twitter, Fahmi Alfansi Pane, a policy analyst in the Indonesian parliament, thanked officials for "acting decisively" to protect public morality but also told the Associated Press he had never seen the comic strips.

Local media, quoting the communications minister, reported the ministry would block Instagram in Indonesia if the Alpatuni account was not removed.

The government frequently threatens to block Western social media and internet companies for content deemed illegal but has never taken such measures, possibly fearful of a public backlash due to the huge popularity of the services with Indonesians.

In 2017, it briefly and partially blocked the Telegram messaging app because of its failure to remove groups linked to violent jihad.